If you’re fishing an area with undercut banks, that’s another potential target zone. Fallen trees laying in the water will produce at times, but remember that in many tidal creeks you’ll have to hit a dozen or so trees to discover which specific deadfall the perch like the most. You’ll usually draw a blank at all the others, then score big when you locate that one hotspot.
One more factor to keep in mind when perch-jerking in the cold winter months: these fish will turn on and off like a light, depending on the tide. Usually a low tide is best simply because it concentrates the fish in those deep holes and makes it easy to pinpoint them, but often you’ll get hit after hit until the current changes direction then wham—nothing. In this scenario, it’s likely you won’t draw a strike for the next several hours. On the flip side, if you get no hits at all for an hour or two, then start getting isolated hits, stick it out at that spot. Chances are that as the tide continues to change, you’ll start to score.
Where You Going To Go?
Most Mid-Atlantic tidal creeks support yellow perch to one degree or another, so long as they have relatively deep water (over 10’). Remember that at this time of year the fish are in pre-spawn mode, and you won’t find them in the spring haunts that attract legions of anglers to mill creek spillways and areas that are nearly one hundred percent fresh. Instead, you want to locate creeks which are fairly brackish and have 15’ to 20’ deep holes, down-river of the areas that are so hot in spring.
The worst-case scenario is to arrive at a tidal creek and discover a thin formation of ice that prevents casting and boat launching, but is not thick enough to support ice fishing (you need four inches, minimum.) You can preplan for such a situation, however. If you’re fishing from land, toss a paint can filled with cement into your trunk. Tie it to a length of strong rope and you can toss it from the pier or shoreline and bust open a section of water. Remember to start close by and open up ice directly in front of you first, because if you make a long throw the can might punch through and get hung up under the lip of the ice.
If you’re fishing from an aluminum or poly boat you can usually drive the bow up onto the ice, then climb into the bow and let your weight break it up. In a fiberglass boat, you’ll damage the hull using this tactic. Instead, go back to the paint bucket method. And protect the bow from free-floating chunks by draping a piece of canvass in front of it. A pair of bungee cords run from the corners of the canvass to the gunwales a few feet aft of the bow will hold it in place. In any case go slow; ice chunks are hard enough to damage both your boat and your prop, if you hit them at a high rate of speed.
Don’t let old man winter keep you indoors this year, when you’d rather be out fishing. Bundle up, prep a thermos with hot soup, and fill the minnow bucket. Those yellow perch are ready, willing, and able to eat your bait--and soon you could be eating them.
--Lenny Rudow
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